Tyrese Maxey "Can't Wait" To Compete with Ashton Hagans Next Season

It’s that time of year for Kentucky fans – the time where everyone is trying to figure out who will stay, who will go, and what next year’s Wildcats will look like. And this year is no different. At this point, we know that P.J. Washington and Reid Travis are gone, and we’re trying to figure out Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro’s will do next. But there is one decision that has gone final, and that was the decision of Ashton Hagans, who shocked some by announcing this week that he will return to college next season. He won’t test the draft waters. He won’t gauge the NBA’s interest. He’s already focused on what’s needed to have success next season. Of course with his return came a bit of concern: Would his return have any negative effect on Tyrese Maxey, the high school All-American guard who is headed to Kentucky next season? KSR caught up with Tyrese Maxey at the Nike Hoops Summit on Thursday night, and Maxey couldn’t be more exited to team up with Hagans. “Ashton is an elite defender, a great leader, and he’s going to bring great action to our team next year,” Maxey said when asked his thoughts on Maxey’s return. “And I can’t wait to go against him every day in practice.” And that last part is what’s most important, and why it’s no surprise that Maxey isn’t worried about Hagans’ decision to return. Remember, the one thing that John Calipari never does in recruiting is promise a player anything – but instead, promise him that he’ll have to work once he gets to campus. The better player will play, and in a lot of cases both will. But no matter who plays what minutes, both players can get better because of it. “It’s going to help me a lot,” Maxey said. “He’s an elite defender like I said. He’s going to push me, I’m going to push him and we’re going to get better together for the team.” From there, Maxey touched on a number of other things with KSR, all of which can be seen in the video below. He shared his thoughts on how Kentucky’s season ended, the message John Calipari has given him recently and whether or not he’s recruiting anyone else that’s at the Hoops Summit. However, Maxey did have one final message to UK fans before departing: “Be ready,” he said. “We’re coming.”